Thursday, December 23, 2010

It all began with a brassy chandelier for $5 from the REstore. That's what I think. My sister thinks it had something to do with wanting to kick-off her new beginning as a freshman in college by remodeling her pink room; big-girl style. But I know it all started with a brassy chandelier for $5 from the REstore.

(Is it me, or is the REstore way more expensive than it should be?

Maybe I've just been to too many 50%-off days at Goodwill and have gotten really cheap.)

Anyhow, deep in my heart, I know I was the one who started it all by giving my sister the white spray-painted chandelier. I know it glamorously seduced her to following order with every last object in her room. Have you ever spray-painted a shoddy brass chandelier? Best DIY high you'll ever get. Whether it be because of her striking resemblance to Audrey, a white chandy, or the new school year, my sis gave her room a glamorous kick in the patootie.

If you look closely, you see she took old wooden (crappy-oops) shelves, and painted the silhouette of My Fair Lady in blue onto it. Loverly. She also took a dresser, a supernatural grey-green wood tone, and painted it white, giving the fabric inserts a coat of blue with white damask patterns. She actually painted the fabric, and it totally works. Black cute handles unite the other touches of black. So sweet!

Ignore the clutter, folks. Just ignore the clutter.

Does anyone know what movie Audrey wore this hat? A little hint:

Another hint:

Sorry, just had to throw in a little sibling rivalry for ya all. On to the shelf. I just love this.

I hate her. :)

Do you see those loverly prints throughout the room? They are actually family heirlooms of my great aunt's sketches. She was an graphic artist in the 20's and 30's. Pretty sweet, huh?

Sorry about the cords and the junk, but this is real life, remember? And I love this upholstered chair. No girl is too big for this.

Friday, December 10, 2010

My good friend and best client, Diane (the one who loves and owns all of my metallic work) contacted me to say she was on the lookout for a cool desk. I happened to come across this very cool desk for a reasonable price at Goodwill, so the project was on!!

It’s got neato wood casters and everything!

Diane wanted it done to match her (twice) lovely Antiqued Champagne Gold Nightstands with dark walnut stained top, and I was more than happy to oblige. We have to keep these repeat customers happy!! ;)

I removed the weird little shelfy thingy someone had added in front of the peculiar little recessed center drawer. I painted the body of the desk with Krylon’s Carmel Latte Brushed Metallic Spray Paint, then glazed it with some Renaissance Brown Metallic Elegant Finish Glaze from Decoart. (I’m honing in my glazing technique. I picked up some great tips from my friend Mandie’s Altar’d Ebook, The Complete Guide to Painting Furniture.)

I picked up the knobs from Hobby Lobby (50% off this week, lucky me!) The top was stripped and stained with Minwax Dark Walnut Gel Stain and sealed with a couple coats of Verathane Satin Finish, topped off with a coat of Minwax Finishing Wax.

Those of you who haven’t already, I wanted to invite you to check out (and maybe follow?) my friend Cassie’s blog, Reuse Reinvent Redesign. She has fantastic style and dose some great furniture redo’s!! She’s in a big push to top 100 followers by year-end, and I know you ladies can help her out! Here’s her super cute living room:

Congratulations on your news Ann Marie! And a beautiful hutch, too. I miss not being in Prescott to help with restorations, sniff. Twice Lovely is sort of a once upon a time thing, now. I've moved down to Mesa, and have taken new directions with my art, but I really miss the good ol' days in the backyard, brainstorming designs and philosophizing.

Every now and again I might butt in (like throwing a party on here that Ann Marie never even showed up at--doesn't she know that 8-month-pregnant mommies cry VERY EASILY!?). I'm just giving a "word to yo moth-a"; use caution when you visit here for the next two months. Twice Lovely now consists of two ladies in the ugliest stages of pregnancy. Twice ugly. Twice interesting. Blah. Hmph. Phooey. Sniff. and...

But I didn't cry at my party. I enjoyed it, and actually met some cool chicks in the process.

Check these little stuffed animals out. Hysterical. Not only that, she made them from scraps of Goodwill clothes. Nikki's Grand Design furniture re-do's are to be admired, too.

And Sarah, at her Super Cute blog, The Bird's Papaya, had a super-cute bench that I had already seen featured on other blogs, but I wanted to feature her ingenious idea of a book sling out of cute material.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Well, I know the first thing everyone thinks of when they hear that there’s “news” is pregnancy, and if you were thinking that, this time, you would’ve been 100% correct! I’m expecting baby #4 in August 2011! I started feeling nauseous about a week ago, which was about a week before I even missed my period. (TMI?) Not sure how that bodes for me. And I’m not sure how being pregnant then having a newborn will bode for the furniture refinishing and blogging, but I’m trying to just take things as they come. But I thought I’d warn all my bloggy friends that if you aren’t hearing from me as much as you’re used to, or you start wondering “Hey! What the heck happened to Ann Marie? Did she drop off the face of the Earth or something?”, I’m just growin’ a baby over here! I’m probably nauseous and/or tired and/or cranky and haven’t had the energy for projects, but I’m still here and still very much appreciate our readers!!

In other news, last week I finished up a hutch that went to a local boutique for display. It’s also up for sale there. Here’s how it started out:

My plan was to replace the glass on the top with chicken wire, strip and stain dark the top of the buffet part, and paint the rest a soft white. I used mostly the original hardware, which (I thought) was very tarnished (nearly black) brass.

I mixed up some homemade brass polish with white vinegar and salt. When I was done, it turned out the pulls were not brass like I thought, but copper! What a great surprise! I love how the patinaed copper looks with the white paint!

Friday, December 3, 2010

I have a buyer for the white bedroom set I finished up just before the Camp Verde sale! Hooray! The lady who is buying the set for her little girl wanted to have the set distressed (since with kids, it gets that way no matter what you do!) I was more than happy to oblige. (Distressing makes me happy.) I also highlighted the harlequin pattern on the top of the side table with some soft green paint to match her room. (This was a detail I wanted to add before, but decided to keep it neutral to appeal to a wider range of buyers.)

So here’s the before (which used to be the after):

And here’s the new after (and, yes, our willow tree finally decided to dump it’s leaves):

I love how the distressing brings out all the cool little details! They’re coming tomorrow from Flagstaff (100 miles away) to pick them up and take them to their new home.

Welcome to our first link party! Hope you gain tons of ideas for your wee ones to love. The link tool will be open for an entire week, so if you still haven't finished your project, there's still time to introduce yourself to all the other gals til next Friday. Be sure to introduce yourself and comment to the person on your right and your left. Can't wait to jury and showcase a few of our favorites!

My project was a shiny, orphaned coffee table I found in the garage of my new house. The previous people (from 2 years before) had left it behind and forgotten it. Awesome. I immediately set it up as an art/snack table for my kids. You might recognize the rug underneath from IKEA, my soft spot for kiddo decor.

Here was a shot of the before:

Table needs to be wiped, as always, you can see the glare of the crumbs in the high-gloss rreflection.

So I had fun with this, because it was ok if I messed up, and it was for play for my kids.

I love it, and there's plenty of room to stash seating all around the table. I don't know about you, but I've had just about enough of those $150 two-chair sets. Have fun ya-all!

Remember, this link party closes next Friday. Enter all you who have lovingly primed, painted, or sewed something for your child.

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About Me

Ann Marie is a Prescott, AZ based furniture and home decor revamping mamma, making cast-off, out-of-date, or otherwise down-trodden furniture fresh, stylish, and lovely once more. She restores the outdated to useful beauty and help give you new eyes to see the potential in things you have in your own home or might have passed by at a thrift store, yard sale, or (gasp!) dumpster. :) She peddles her lovelies at Livy Lou's Boutique in downtown Prescott, AZ.